The present invention relates to a dispenser of material, such as, for example, sheet material. In addition, the present invention relates to a dispenser in which a sheet of material is removed from an exit port of the dispenser without a patron having to touch the dispenser to obtain or remove the sheet.
No-touch dispensers, i.e., dispensers that do not require the patron to touch any part of the dispenser, are desired for many reasons. No-touch dispensing reduces the chance of transferring disease-causing bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms. No-touch dispensing also makes the process of obtaining a sheet simpler and quicker.
Single-sheet dispensers, i.e., dispensers that dispense a consistent, fixed quantity of sheet material, are also desired for many reasons. They tend to reduce the quantity of sheet material used by an individual patron, thereby saving on material costs, disposal costs, and costs associated with the frequency whereby the dispensers must be refilled.
No-touch, single-sheet dispensers for folded, interleaved sheets are known, however the manufacturing processes associated with providing the folded, interleaved sheets are more expensive and complex than the process associated with providing roll products.
No-touch, single-sheet dispensers utilizing knives or other cutting devices to cut sheet material from a roll of sheet material are known, but knives and other cutting devices may present a danger to either a patron or an individual refilling the dispenser.
No-touch, single-sheet dispensers for rolled products via zones of weakness, such as, but not by way of limitation, perforations, are known, but if the sheet material tears before the next zone of weakness emerges from the dispenser, the next patron has no sheet material to grasp.
No-touch, single-sheet dispensing of double rolled products via offset zones of weakness (such as, for example, perforations) is also known, but dispensers for these products still have disadvantages that have yet to be overcome. As an example, these dispensers can be difficult to load. As another example, if the force applied by a patron to remove the sheet material from the dispenser is distributed evenly across the width of the sheet material, the zones of weakness may not separate, causing more than one sheet to be removed from the dispenser.
These types of dispensers are ideal for use in an industrial or commercial environment. Dispensers of such rolls, however, quickly become dirty, worn, and so forth. It would therefore be desirable to have a single use, disposable dispenser to dispense such rolls. Such a dispenser would provide one or more mechanisms to appropriately tension the sheet material flowing therethrough to allow withdrawal of one sheet at a time from a roll of sheet material to prevent both user waste from excessive dispensing and user frustration from inadequate dispensing. Such a dispenser may also desirably provide both a shipping carton for the sheet material contained therein as well as a single use, disposable dispenser. Such a dispenser would permit easy transport and storage as well as proper dispensing.